At the 21 mile (34 km) mark, things start to get a bit dicey for high-altitude balloons. The atmospheric air pressure is so low that the gas within the balloon expands. Causing this to happen.
Images: Kostas Tamateas via Kosmas’s Facebook Page.
The image was taken as part of the SlaRos project, Greece’s first suborbital photography mission.
The balloon burst above the Thessalian Plain of northern Greece. Mount Olympus can be seen beneath the clouds at the top left. And to the immediate left of the balloon, or what’s left of it anyway, is the Aegean Sea.
After blowing up at an altitude of 111,296 feet, the capsule fell to the Earth. It was retrieved intact and will be re-used for a future launch.
Via EPOD.
